Mourners gathered at a vigil on Bondi Beach to honor the lives lost in yesterday鈥檚 Hanukkah attack. It was the deadliest shooting Australia has seen since 1996, when a mass shooting prompted the government to enact some of the world鈥檚 strictest gun regulations. Authorities have now vowed even tougher gun laws. One of the killers鈥� former Islamic teachers said he was 鈥渄eeply saddened鈥� by the attack, reminding people that what happened is 鈥渃ompletely forbidden鈥� in Islam.
Brown University cancelled remaining in-person exams to focus on 鈥減roviding care and support鈥� following a classroom shooting on Saturday that killed two people and injured nine. President Donald Trump offered his 鈥渄eepest regards and respects鈥� to the victims and their families. Authorities lifted a shelter-in-place order on campus yesterday. They are still searching for the gunman.
Film director Rob Reiner聽was murdered with his wife at their Los Angeles home. Police are investigating the case. Mr. Reiner first became famous for playing 鈥淢eathead鈥� in the hit 1970s sitcom 鈥淎ll in the Family.鈥� He then became one of Hollywood鈥檚 most versatile, successful, and beloved directors. His filmography includes 鈥淭he Princess Bride,鈥� 鈥淲hen Harry Met Sally,鈥� and 鈥淎 Few Good Men.鈥� Film critic Richard Roeper tweeted that he was 鈥渙ne of the kindest and most considerate human beings I鈥檝e ever met in this business.鈥�
Hong Kong democracy activist聽and newspaper founder聽Jimmy Lai聽was found guilty of national security offenses following a more than two-year trial. A panel of judges decided he had conspired to collude with foreign forces to call for sanctions on Hong Kong and to publish seditious material in his now shuttered media outlet, which covered mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. Human rights advocates decried the verdict. Mr. Lai has been behind bars for five years, often in solitary confinement, and faces up to life in prison.
Chile elected an ultraconservative president, Jos茅 Antonio Kast, in a runoff against his left-wing opponent, Jeannette Jara. Topics of immigration and crime dominated the election, with Mr. Kast vowing to deport undocumented migrants and crack down on delinquency. His victory is the latest in a succession of right-wing governments across the Americas, from Donald Trump in the United States to Nayib Bukele in El Salvador and Javier Milei in Argentina.
Every December, an Ohio woman thanks the cop who arrested her for drunk driving in 2015. What started as resentment transformed into gratitude as Kimberly Slavens got sober in the months that followed. She began to see the arrest as the wake-up call she needed. This year, she told Highway Patrol Sgt. Brett Lee she wouldn鈥檛 have been able to see her son get married or buy a house were it not for him. 鈥淚 will be forever grateful to you,鈥� she wrote.
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